FSC 76
|debut= none |return=none |withdraw= |pre= FSC #75 |nex= FSC #77|image = }} June 2015 sees the 76th edition of Forum Song Contest, held in Taormina on the Italian island of Sicily. This is the second consecutive edition in Italy because of Francesca Michielin's victory (with her song "L'amore esiste") on home soil in the preceding edition. Valentina Monetta, famous Sanmarinese singer with Italian roots, is the host and provides opening and interval music with her Eurovision entries "The Social Network Song", "Crisalide (Vola)" and "Maybe (Forse)". 31 entries are in the run for victory, five less than in FSC 75. Denmark, Malaysia and Morocco have withdrawn after not voting in the last editionThe HostsFurthermore, Cyprus and Greece did not send an entry. The number of participants marks the lowest interest in FSC in over two years. Alvaro Soler won this edition with his song "El Mismo Sol", originally obtaining 138 points for Spain. However, the Spanish jury did not send in its votes in time, so Spain (along with three other juries) had to face a 30 points reduction. Nevertheless, 108 points were still twelve more than Estonia reached. Germany conquered the third rank while Turkey placed fourth. Italy did not win for a third consecutive time, but could add another top five placement this edition. The Host City Taormina is a comune and small town on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy, in the Province of Messina, about midway between Messina and Catania, located 206 meters above the sea level on a hillside of monte Tauro, one of the last peaks of the mounts Peloritani. Taormina has been a very popular tourist destination since the 19th century. It has popular beaches (accessible via an aerial tramway) on the Ionian sea, which is remarkably warm and has a high salt content. Taormina can be reached via highways (autostrade) from Messina from the north and Catania from the south. The area around Taormina was inhabited by the Siculi even before the Greeks arrived on the Sicilian coast in 734 BC to found a town called Naxos. The theory that Tauromenion was founded by colonists from Naxos is confirmed by Strabo and other ancient writers. The new settlement seems to have risen rapidly to prosperity, and was apparently already a considerable town at the time of Timoleon's expedition in 345 BC. It was the first place in Sicily where that leader landed, having eluded the vigilance of the Carthaginians, who were guarding the Straits of Messina, and crossed direct from Rhegium (modern Reggio di Calabria) to Tauromenium. The Venue By far the most remarkable monument remaining at Taormina is the Ancient theatre, which is one of the most celebrated ruins in Sicily, on account both of its remarkable preservation and its beautiful location. It is built for the most part of brick, and is therefore probably of Roman date, though the plan and arrangement are in accordance with those of Greek, rather than Roman, theatres; whence it is supposed that the present structure was rebuilt upon the foundations of an older theatre of the Greek period. With a diameter of 109 metres (358 ft) (after an expansion in the 2nd century), this theatre is the second largest of its kind in Sicily (after that of Syracuse); it is frequently used for operatic and theatrical performances and for concerts. The Host Valentina Monetta (born 1 March 1975) is a Sammarinese singer. She represented San Marino in the 2012, 2013 and 2014 Eurovision Song Contest and announced the Sanmarinese points at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Vienna. Valentina Monetta was born and raised in San Marino, the younger of the two children of a Sammarinese mother and an Italian father. A graduate of the Giovanni da Rimini school in Rimini, she played piano and sang from an early age. She began her singing career in 1995 fronting the group Tiberio and was subsequently involved with a number of bands including Parafunky, Harem-B, 2blackBluesmobile, and My Funky Valentine. She competed in the 2001 edition of the televised singing competition Popstars. The Show The countries whose points are marked with * missed voting and subsequently suffered a point reduction of 30. The original scores were: Austria: 28, Brazil: 35, Spain: 138, Australia: 79 The Results The Winner Alvaro Soler - El Mismo Sol